Alan Campbell knows he can thank 30,000 fans for the psychological lift which
helped him summon up one last great effort to clinch a single sculls bronze
medal under extreme pressure on Friday.

With Campbell’s medal – Britain’s first in the Olympic single sculls for 88 years – GB Rowing has hit its target a day early, and with three races to go, and the home support has been a big part of that.

The emotional Northern Irishman was overcome as he accepted his medal.

“I just couldn’t take another stroke at the end of the race. I could barely stand [in the medal ceremony]. I could not get my words out. There was a lot of emotion.

"To stand tall with two of the best guys in the world, you could not ask for more. It will be tough for any other day to match up to today.”

Campbell vowed at the start of his career to win gold in London, but the man from Coleraine could never have predicted that he would reach his peak during what will be seen one day as a golden era for single sculling.

Ahead of him in the rankings lie a Czech, Ondrej Synek, and a New Zealander, Mahe Drysdale.

Together the trio have dominated the event, but Campbell has rarely beaten either, and never both in the same race: at stake was a medal all three had set their hearts on, perhaps none more than Drysdale, a close friend of Campbell, who had been widely expected to win in Beijing before he was laid low by gastroenteritis.

Drysdale, who is a fellow member of Campbell’s own home club, Tideway Scullers, raced to bronze four years ago despite having not eaten for 48 hours, and nothing was going to stop him this time.

Synek, shifted by the judges into the shelter of lane six because of the cross-wind, was the first to show, but Drysdale soon pushed past him and took what proved to be an unassailable lead.

Campbell was left to scrap it out against Sweden’s Lassi Karonen, who, like Campbell, is able to sprint at a high rate for minutes on end.

Campbell clawed his way past Karonen with a big push after 1,100 metres, but the Swede did not give in, and it turned into a two-horse race for bronze.

They crossed the 1500-metre mark level, and as Drysdale outsculled Synek and moved away for a soaring and well-deserved gold medal, Campbell went into overdrive. But Karonen was not done yet, and it took everything Campbell could muster to keep the two boats level.

Campbell found one last shred of energy, and poured his soul into his boat. He seemed to be carried to the line on a surge of cheering and virtually collapsed as he tried to climb out of the boat, utterly finished.